by Blair Anderson
Way back when the internet still felt like the Wild West, Google summarily deleted my blog, Blair’s Brain on Cannabis. No warning, no right of appeal — just a curt message about “breaching community standards.”
In an instant, over 1,200 posts — years of drug policy analysis, community engagement, political advocacy, and content from my weekly Plains FM radio show — were gone. It wasn’t just data; it was a record of reform and public conversation erased without due process.
I tried everything — emails, phone calls, digital forms that felt like shouting into a void. The only response was that same faceless phrase: “breached some community standard.” It was the virtual equivalent of “because we said so.”
After months of frustration, I decided if the mountain wouldn’t come to me, I’d go to the mountain.
The Mountain
In Los Angeles, visiting a friend’s storage unit, I noticed a detail in a photo I’d just taken — a distant flag fluttering atop a building. It bore a familiar logo: Google.
The next morning, on the way to meet my friend Jack Herer — the legendary cannabis activist — we passed that same building. I told my friend to drop me off. I had a new plan, half protest, half performance art: if I couldn’t get their attention digitally, maybe I’d “liberate” their flag to make my point.
Clad in my red beret, red jacket, black shorts, and red backpack, I looked like an eccentric mix of activist and cartoon character. I approached the unmarked door that staff were quietly filing through and knocked. Then knocked again.
Eventually, a man appeared — security, I assumed. I handed him my business card and said evenly, “Someone inside needs to know I’m out here.”
“Why are you here?” he asked.
I nodded to the card in his hand. “That,” I said, “is above your pay grade. Google me.”
He blinked, uncertain, then told me to wait.
The Door Opens
About half an hour later, another man appeared — an executive type, all smiles and calm authority. He introduced himself and said, “Your blog will be restored within twenty minutes.”
He explained there’d been a “security issue” with some code I’d uploaded. Possible, maybe, but I wasn’t in the mood to quibble.
I thanked him, stepped back into the California sun, and checked my phone. Sure enough — Blair’s Brain on Cannabis was live again.
The Headline
I sent a press release to The Dominion, New Zealand’s most political daily. The next morning, the headline ran in the computer pages:
“Google Gives Blair’s Brain Back.”
Cute, indeed.
You can still find my resurrected work — the politics, the reform, the passion — at mildgreens.blogspot.com.
And for the record — that red beret? Genuine ETA issue. Not a statement of militancy, just a nod to my Celtic roots — and a warm bit of felt that turned out to be the perfect symbol for stubborn persistence.
Blair Anderson http://mildgreens.blogspot.com
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